The Stockport family of a fisherman who is believed to have drowned after being dragged overboard while fishing for whelks, are backing a device to help ensure other fishermens’ lives are spared.
Dawn Hutchison and her brother Haydn Jones lost their father, Maldwyn Jones in April last year when he failed to return to shore after fishing in Nefyn, Wales.
Maldwyn’s nephew Rodney Jones raised the alarm after realising his uncle’s boat had not returned and a major search was then mounted, including Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers from Porthdinllaen lifeboat station who later found Maldwyn’s body.
Now, the RNLI has developed a man overboard and emergency alerting system, MOB Guardian, which is the first equipment of its kind to afford automatic protection to both crew and vessel.
Dawn says: ‘I’m so pleased the RNLI has come up with this system to help these men who work in awful weather conditions. If MOB Guardian saves one life, or stops another family having to live through the nightmare of losing their loved one then having to wait until the sea gives them back, then the system has to be worth backing.’
She added: ‘I would appeal to the wives, girlfriends, partners and family members of any fishermen to make sure their loved one has this piece of equipment as it’s these people who have to live through the heartache of waiting for the sea to bring them home.’
The RNLI came up with the original idea and design for the satellite-based system following concerns about the number of fishing related incidents and deaths each year.Since becoming commercially available in December 2007, it has already saved the lives of five fishermen.
MOB Guardian consists of a base unit, and personal safety devices (PSD’s) worn by the crew. The base unit automatically transmits, via satellite, regular updates of a vessel’s position, course and speed to the RNLI’s monitoring station. If a regular update is missed, the monitoring station tries to regain contact with the boat and if no further updates are received an alert is raised with the coastguard so that a search can be initiated.
If a fisherman wearing a PSD falls into the water, the radio link between the PSD and the base unit is broken, and an alert is raised within three minutes. Because the last known position of the vessel has been recorded, searching by the rescue services becomes far easier and casualties can be reached sooner.
Frankie Horne, RNLI Fishing Safety Coordinator, North explains why the position information is invaluable: ‘It really does help take the search out of search and rescue, providing the emergency responders with a key recent position from where they can begin their search. Help should arrive more quickly as accurate coordinates of the last know position are known, so if fishermen are equipped with lifejackets and liferafts, there should be a greater chance of finding them alive. At present grants are available to help fishermen purchase the MOB Guardian unit, so I would urge interested fishermen to get in touch with us.’
Subsidies secured by the RNLI provide seventy-five percent funding towards the purchase and installation of MOB Guardian plus five-year free satellite airtime. For more information on funding arrangements or to obtain an order form, registered fishermen should call the MOB Guardian helpline on 01202 663142 or email mob_guardian@rnli.org.uk
Author: Deborah Heaton-Caffin, Lifeguard Press Officer